The Power To Control Our Emotions
January Teaching Letter from Denise Renner
Dear Friends,
Merry Christmas and greetings in Jesus’ precious name! Christ came into this world “in the fullness of time” to redeem mankind from sin and to reconcile us to the Heavenly Father (Galatians 4:4,5). And what a great salvation it was and is that God wrought for us in Christ (see Hebrews 2:3-18)! Denise and I and our family wish you a warm and wonderful Christmas season and the best new year of your life in 2022.
Today I want to talk to you about opportunities and adversaries, but first I want to say thank you for being such a faithful partner with our ministry. As I told you in my letter last month, our ministry is bursting at the seams, and I am so humbled that God would use Denise and me, our family, and our team to minister to the many people who are reaching out to us every day.
Every soul is precious, and it is our heartfelt desire to convey that truth to every person God brings to us — that they are precious to Him and to us. And your gifts are so vital to our ability to touch every one of these treasured souls! So today I want to say a special thank you for all you do with us to take the trusted teaching of the Word of God to people in Russia and all over the world. From the depths of our hearts, Denise and I THANK YOU!
This month is the last month of the year — and I know you are probably preparing for Christmas and many different kinds of gatherings. But in addition to Christmas, it’s also almost 2022. As we come to the end of this year and to the beginning of a brand-new year, the Holy Spirit keeps telling me to “stay on track” with the assignments He has given us. I hear Him saying that even if we hit bumps along the way, everything will be all right if we’ll just stay on track and maintain our God-assigned territory — the many opportunities and assignments He has given us to inspire, strengthen, and equip believers with the sound teaching of the Bible.
But I’ve learned over the years that opportunities and adversaries usually go together — and today I want to encourage you to undergird yourself so that you can stay on track with what God has asked you to do this month and in the coming year.
Over the course of our ministry, we’ve had many great, effectual doors open to us to do the work of the Gospel. I’ll never forget when I received an opportunity to minister on television in the former Soviet Union. It was as if a great door had suddenly swung open to an entire vast territory — a door that had never before been opened for anyone else — and I knew I was experiencing something miraculous. By faith, Denise and I stepped through that door and began to preach the Word of God on television in this spiritually starved corner of the world.
Given the former socialist-communist campaigns against the Gospel in this particular region, this opportunity was as miraculous as the Jordan River dividing for Joshua and the children of Israel. But with this great open door also came a slew of adversaries, specifically dispatched by Satan to instill fear and doubt into my heart. The devil desperately wanted to prevent me from touching the lives of spiritually oppressed people, so he positioned evil people with insidious plans to try to block my view of what God had in store for our ministry.
I’m telling you that it was like the children of Israel looking at the Promised Land from the far side of the Jordan River. From that perspective, they saw only the fruitful land of blessing that lay before them. But once they entered the Promised Land, they had to fight giants of every kind before they could possess that land and enjoy the blessing. In much the same way, if Denise and I had taken our eyes off the Lord during that tumultuous period — or if we had focused only on the problems and forgotten about the fruit we were pursuing for God’s Kingdom — I’m sure we would have backpedaled to get out of the situation!
But we knew this was a God-given opportunity and worth the fight, so we fixed our gaze squarely on the Lord. Girded with the armor of God and the power of the Spirit, we pushed through every obstacle and possessed the ground that God called us to take. As a result, millions of souls began to hear the Gospel for the first time. We knew that only God could have opened this door!
In First Corinthians 16:9, the apostle Paul wrote about the strategic doors of opportunity that open for the Gospel and the adversaries that usually accompany them. He said, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” Notice that Paul used the words “great,” “door,” “effectual,” and “is opened” to describe the opportunity that had been set before him.
The word “great” in this verse is translated from the Greek word megale, which means gigantic. The word “door” is the Greek word thura, which typically refers to a door, but in this context, denotes a rare opportunity. The word “effectual” is the Greek word energes, and it depicts something that is powerful and ready to be set into motion. Finally, the phrase “is opened” is the Greek word anoigo, which describes something standing wide open. In other words, the door in question couldn’t be any more open! Thus, an alternate translation of Paul’s words in First Corinthians 16:9 could be rendered, “A gigantic, powerful opportunity is already set in motion and standing wide open….”
Paul continued by saying, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me….” You see, Paul knew that the particular door he was referring to had never been opened to anyone else, and he stood in awe of the unprecedented opportunity. Walking through these kinds of doors is impossible without divine assistance, and Paul was fully aware of God’s role in the matter. That is why he specified that this door had been opened “unto me.”
Paul’s prayer request in First Corinthians 16:9 was not for a door to open because it had already opened. His prayer request was to receive God’s wisdom to deal with the numerous adversaries who were trying to come against him. Paul used the Greek word antikeimenoi to describe the vast number of “adversaries” that were sent to attack him. This Greek word describes something that was piled high and lying all around him. In other words, he was dealing with more than a few minor opponents. On the contrary, it felt like opposition was stacked high on every side!
I’ve learned that the enemy will try his best to keep you from stepping through the gigantic doors of opportunity God desires to open for you. Satan is afraid of what will happen when “his” territory is invaded by someone fully equipped with a full arsenal of spiritual weapons. So know this: God will open doors for you — but He needs you to make a determined decision that you will walk through them, no matter the opposition, with the help of His Spirit.
By opening the door, God has already done His part, which would have been impossible without His assistance. Now He beckons you to come, dressed in the whole armor of God and in the power of His Word — and proceed through that effectual door into new territory. It may look like enemies are everywhere, but it is simply a fact that the devil and his forces flee and collapse when they are subjected to a show of strong faith!
As I mentioned earlier, many great and effectual doors have been opened to us over the years to do the work of the Gospel. In each case, we knew these doors were unique to us and had never before been opened for anyone else. And just as Paul experienced opposition, there were plenty of enemies that came against us with each opportunity. But because we obeyed God, the devil was forced to move out of the way, and we walked right into the virgin territory that God had opened for our ministry.
Even if you think your situation looks threatening right now, I want to tell you that God is with you. He wants to supernaturally open new doors for you — doors that have never before been opened for you. He is not beckoning you to walk through these doors so you can fail. He is with you every step of the way, and He will empower you to defeat every foe and bring Him glory in that new territory that is yours to possess in Jesus’ name!
Your open door may be an opportunity to shine the light of God’s Word and God’s love to your family or friends during this holiday season. It may be a door that will open to you in the new year. Regardless of when it is or what it is, the same God who opens doors will empower you to walk through them — and then He’ll be right with you to give you the wisdom and strength needed to overcome any giant that tries to meet you on the other side.
I know this is not a typical December, “Christmas-style” letter, but this is what was on my heart to share with you today. I want you to always know that if we can join you in prayer, we would be delighted to do so. To be honest, we are praying for you anyway, but when we are alerted to know exactly “how” to pray, it increases our effectiveness as we pray for you. So if you have a special need, please either call or write to let us know how we can get in agreement with you for God to show Himself mighty to you according to Jeremiah 33:3, which says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
And please pray for us as we continue marching forward by faith to push back darkness, to shine the light of God’s Word, and to take territory for the Kingdom of God. Together — as partners — we can make a difference in the lives of throngs of people who are crying out to God for help. They are waiting for God to respond to their prayers, and God wants to use us — you and us together — to bring them the answers they desperately need.
But before I close, I want to say we are specifically asking God to do something special for you this month and before the end of the year. I don’t know what it is, but that is what we are praying. We are asking God to do something special that will bless your life! And please, please pray for us as we continue pushing ahead to build our studio in Moscow, to finalize the purchase of our new headquarters in Tulsa, and to continue to minister effectually to every precious soul Jesus brings to us!
Merry Christmas!
We love you and thank God for you!
We are your brother and sister, friends, and partners in Jesus Christ,
Rick and Denise Renner
along with Paul, Philip, and Joel and their families|Editor’s Note: In this month’s Teaching Letter, we’re presenting an adapted excerpt from Denise’s newest book Jesus Is Your Healer, which will be released next month. This book will illuminate you concerning Jesus’ great willingness and ability to heal you and make you whole — and this excerpt will encourage you to take hold of that divine ability today and let Jesus love you!
Hello, Friend!
Happy New Year! I pray you had a wonderful time celebrating the birth of our Savior and are looking forward to 2024 with a sense of renewed hope and expectancy. In my last few letters, I wrote to you about divine healing, and I would like to continue teaching along this line. This subject is so close to my heart that I wrote a book called Jesus Is Your Healer, and I am excited to share with you another excerpt from it.
Our emotions play an important role in our health and wellness, and emotions also play an important role in being able to receive the healing that is ours. If you need healing in your body (or know someone who does), I pray this letter is a word in due season.
Things are happening in our world that tell us the time is near for Jesus’ return. Never has it been more important for us to keep our spirit man strong and in control of our emotions.
You have probably seen someone in your life who absolutely lost control of his or her emotions. Maybe that person yelled, screamed, or even cursed at someone you loved, and you said to yourself, I don’t ever want to be like that. Or maybe you were that person who got in a situation where you lost control of your emotions and then felt terrible about it later.
Emotions are a gift from God and a blessing, but it has never been His will that we would be controlled by our emotions. God has provided wisdom for us to learn how to control our emotions, which is a vital part of what we need to do to receive our healing and live in divine health.
We Can Control Our Emotions
The Bible says that we were created in God’s image (see Genesis 1:26,27). God has emotions, and so do we. Emotions in themselves are not bad; it’s what we do with them that makes them good or bad.
Many people have a false picture of God painted in their minds. They assume that He is often angry and out to destroy us. For instance, society has a term for natural disasters, such as tornadoes or hurricanes, that can wreak havoc on the earth: They are often called “acts of God.” But that’s a lie of the devil, because those weather events are not initiated by God.
God does have emotion. Zephaniah 3:17 shows us that He experiences joy.
The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will
save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet
you with His love….
God has so much gladness and joy that this word “rejoice” in the Hebrew includes the meaning of spinning. God doesn’t just rejoice over you; He dances in delight over you! That’s how much He loves you. He feels great joy and compassion when He thinks of you.
So we know from God’s Word that there is nothing wrong with our emotions; however, we don’t want to be controlled by them. The Bible says be angry, but to sin not (see Ephesians 4:26). So anger in itself is not a sin; it’s what we do with that anger. If we yell and scream and curse at someone because we are angry, then we have allowed this emotion to move us into fleshly action. Emotion has great power, and it can move us to do the wrong thing.
Anger is normal, but we need to control it because controlling our emotions is vital to our physical health.
You might be saying to yourself, I can’t control my emotions. I listened to my mother scream for so many years of my life. I heard my father’s angry cursing throughout my years growing up. Now I’m just doing what my parents did. I can’t help it.
If you’re saying that, I want to tell you that it’s not true. You can help it. When God says, “Be angry and sin not,” He’s telling us what to do. He would never tell us to do something that He didn’t equip us to do, because He is just and completely fair. God has given us the equipment we need to control our emotions.
How To Keep Your Spirit Man in Control of Your Emotions
So when our emotions are knocking at the door, how can we answer the door in a way that brings light and help to us? How do we ensure that our spirit man stays in control of our emotions?
Let’s consider what we can do when we’re angry. We can either speak to ourselves, or we can listen to that emotion and allow it to move us to an emotional state that isn’t good. We might start yelling and screaming at someone, or we might block our heart from that person, telling ourselves, I’ll never forgive him (or her) for this. If that’s the choice we make and we allow that powerful emotion of anger to move us and cause us to sin, I guarantee you that this kind of reaction will have a detrimental effect on our bodies.
But there’s an answer for those of us who are Christians. We’re not supposed to be led around by our emotions or to allow our emotions to control us. We shouldn’t be screaming and yelling at people. We are not at liberty to give people a piece of our carnal mind or to threaten people with negative consequences for not pleasing us!
So what is our answer? We are to take the time to ask the Holy Spirit who dwells within us for wisdom.
The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the
mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.
Proverbs 15:28
Do you see the two choices in this verse? We either study how to answer, or we pour forth out of our mouths what is evil. The Holy Spirit is so personal, and when we fall into these kinds of emotionally upsetting situations, He is there to give us the help we need if we will take the time to ask Him for that help.
Overcomers Even in Tribulation
We won’t have perfect lives while living on this earth. We will face obstacles that we will need to overcome by faith, and at times those obstacles may include physical sickness or infirmities. But in the midst of it all, Jesus gave us these powerful words of encouragement to sustain and to strengthen us:
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may
have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of
good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
Now, that is a powerful promise. In this world, we are going to have tribulation, but in Jesus, we have peace that surpasses natural understanding (see Philippians 4:6,7). As we face situations that seem impossible, it might take us a little while until we experience His peace. Things that we simply wish weren’t happening can press on our minds and hearts. But what can we do? Jesus told us in that verse. He said, “In Me, you can have peace.”
My life is not a perfect life, and, yes, at times I’ve had to deal with physical and emotional challenges. But one thing I know — it is in Jesus that I find my peace.
After Jesus promised us His peace, He went on to promise something else: “…In the world you will have tribulation…” (John 16:33). Why is Jesus promising us this? Because He knows something about this world. He knows something about people. But even though Jesus says that we will have tribulation in this world, He also says, “…Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
As we serve Jesus faithfully even through a time of experiencing tribulation, we’re showing the strength of our faith. When everything is going great, it seems like we don’t even have to use our faith. It’s when we’re in those hard places and we might be tempted to give up that the real test comes.
We have to let our spirit man rise up and take control of our emotions in those times. We have to look to Heaven and say, “Jesus, I’m not giving up. This trial isn’t easy to go through, but I know this: You are good, and You are faithful. And no matter what I’m going through, I’m trusting You to bring me out on the other side!”
Always remember these words of Jesus, because you’re going to need them in this life. Jesus said that tribulation comes to everyone, which means you and I are not exempt. But He also said that in Him, you will find strength in His abiding peace. And then He said, “Cheer up — because here is the bottom line: I have overcome the world, and that overcoming power is in you!”
That overcoming power comes in the Person of the Holy Spirit, who promises to do exceedingly abundantly above all you could ever ask or think. He works in you with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (see Romans 8:11; Ephesians 1:19,20; 3:20). That means you are well able to take control of your emotions so that they work for you and not against you. Wholeness in every area of your life — spirit, soul, and body — that is the will of God for you!
My friend, I count it a great privilege that you decided to spend this time with me, and I hope you’ve found hope and healing in these words! Together, we’ve sat at the feet of Jesus with our eyes and ears fixed on His Word. Psalm 119:103 says, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” And Proverbs 16:24 reminds us, “Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.”
If you would like more sweetness for your soul and health to your bones, I invite you to join me for my program TIME With Denise Renner on Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m. CT on YouTube and Facebook. You can also find me on the following:
• GospelTruth.TV — Saturdays at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. CT
• PTL — Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. CT
• Spotify, Apple, and Google — Mondays at 5:00 a.m. CT (new audio podcasts)
Do you need healing or have a special prayer request? We have a team of Spirit-filled prayer partners who are just a phone call or email away. Call 1.844.473.6637 or send us an email at prayer@deniserenner.org to connect with the power of agreement. Healing is available to you, and we would be honored to be a part of the miraculous work that God wants to do in you.
We are moving forward together,
Denise Renner
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